“My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.” 1 John 3:18

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Seventy times seven


Jewish law held that one should forgive someone who has offended you four times.  Peter thought he would demonstrate generosity if he forgave someone seven times and asks Jesus, "Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me?  Seven times?"  Jesus replied, "No, seventy times seven." [Matthew 18:21-35]

As we go into this new year, is there anyone who you need to forgive?  What grudges are you holding on to?  Who offended you, last year or the year before that or a decade ago, and you still haven't forgiven them?  

Sometimes, we won't forgive someone for an offense because we confuse forgiveness and acceptance of the offending behavior.  Because I forgive someone for lying to me, doesn't mean I accept this betrayal and am inviting them to do it again.  Forgiveness is not for them, its for me.  Forgiveness allows me to let go of the anger, put down the burden of the grudge, release the stress in my heart of being mad and move on with my life.

Has this ever happened to you?  You're minding your business, driving down the highway, singing along with Marvin Sapp on the radio, then out of no-where, someone speeds past you and cuts across your lane.  You, of course, are mad.  And there you are, sitting in your closed car, yelling, getting all worked up while the other guy has driven off to wherever he needed to go.  You get to work and keep fussing about this guy who cut across your lane as you go about your day.  At lunch, you share this story with your friend, getting all worked up and barely able to enjoy your double cheeseburger and fries.  And driving home after work, you drive with your hands clenched on the steering wheel, not even able to turn on your radio.

How much more pleasant would the day have been if we had just rolled our eyes when the other driver cut across the lane and went back to singing?

In the same way, by not forgiving, we are holding on to pain and letting it ruin our outlook and enjoyment of lfe.  Yes, if you have been betrayed or hurt by someone you love and someone who is supposed to love you, its much more deeper than being cut off on the highway.  And, the anger and stress we are allowing that offense to inflict on ourselves is greater as well.

Allow yourself better days, let the burden of anger roll of your back.  Even if you don't see that person who hurt you, or don't want to see them, release the grudge from your heart.  Do it for yourself.

Enjoy the blessings of this brand new year!

No comments:

Post a Comment